Providing perspective on the economics and politics of sports business in Florida...and the Rays' campaign for a new stadium in Tampa Bay.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Letter: No Taxes for Rays Stadium

A "Letter of the Day" in the pages of the Tampa Tribune implores citizens to stand up against any possible vote for public stadium subsidies:

Name an industry other than professional sports in which the eventual customer is called upon to fund the purchase of a venue at which this same customer will eventually purchase the product.You probably cannot. However, this is exactly what Major League Baseball does when it threatens to move a team unless the local residents finance a new stadium. Were municipal bonds floated or was there a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for the International Plaza? Of course not. The land was purchased, it was built and you either go there or you don’t. I like the Rays. I go to some games. However, this citizen will never vote to approve public dollars to finance a stadium.I find it interesting that “super agent” Scott Boras thinks the Rays should move because not enough fans fill the seats such that the exorbitant players’ salaries can be paid. This is quite self-serving on his part as agents are usually paid based upon the size of the contract they negotiate.Dave MullanTampa

Of course, much of Hillsborough County is conservative, so getting a vote approved to fund a stadium would be hard anyway. Most politicians know any new stadium effort in Tampa would likely have to be done without a vote.